Demographics of China#Ethnic groups

{{Main|Population history of China}}

File:China population growth.svg

File:Historical population of India and China.svg

During 1960–2015, the population grew to nearly 1.4 billion. Under Mao Zedong, China nearly doubled in population from 540 million in 1949 to 969 million in 1979. This growth slowed because of the one-child policy instituted in 1979.{{cite book |pages=51–57 |title=A Brief History of China's Population, The Population of Modern China |first=Judith |last=Banister |isbn=978-0-306-44138-7 |doi=10.1007/978-1-4899-1231-2_3 |chapter=A Brief History of China's Population |year=1992 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/populationofmode0000unse/page/51}} The 2022 data shows a declining population for the first time since 1961.{{cite news |last1=Ng |first1=Kelly |title=China's population falls for first time since 1961 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-64300190 |access-date=17 January 2023 |work=BBC News |date=17 January 2023 |archive-date=17 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117043939/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-64300190 |url-status=live}}

China's population reached 1 billion in 1982, making it the first country to reach this milestone.{{Cite news |last=Weisskopf |first=Michael |date=1982-10-28 |title=China's Population Passes 1 Billion in Latest Census |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1982/10/28/chinas-population-passes-1-billion-in-latest-census/f3b0e967-6dbd-4ca0-9f63-e125e980e0ab/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240603023252/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1982/10/28/chinas-population-passes-1-billion-in-latest-census/f3b0e967-6dbd-4ca0-9f63-e125e980e0ab/ |archive-date=3 June 2024 |access-date=2023-05-14 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}

{{Main|Census in China}}

The People's Republic of China conducted censuses in 1953, 1964, 1982, 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020. In 1987, the government announced that the fourth national census would take place in 1990 and that there would be one every ten years thereafter. The 1982 census (which reported a total population of 1,008,180,738) is generally accepted as significantly more reliable, accurate, and thorough than the previous two.{{Cite journal |last=Xiaogang |first=He |title=The Evolution of Population Census Undertakings in China, 1953–2010 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282944015 |journal=China Review |volume=15 |pages=171–206 |access-date=3 March 2021 |archive-date=3 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240603023129/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282944015_The_Evolution_of_Population_Census_Undertakings_in_China_1953-2010 |url-status=live}} Various international organizations eagerly assisted the Chinese in conducting the 1982 census, including the United Nations Fund for Population Activities, which donated US$100.0 million between 1980 and 1989 for a variety of projects, one of which being the 1982 census.{{Cite web |last=Kaufman |first=Joan |date=March 2011 |title=China Case Study on UNFPA |url=https://www.cgdev.org/sites/default/files/archive/doc/China-Case-Study.pdf |url-status=live |website=Center for Global Development |page=19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201226013926/https://www.cgdev.org/sites/default/files/archive/doc/China-Case-Study.pdf |archive-date=26 December 2020}}

China was the world's most populous nation until being surpassed by India in 2023.{{Cite web |title=The U.S. Census Bureau - China |url=https://www.census.gov/popclock/world/ch |url-status=live |access-date=2021-04-21 |website=www.census.gov |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905192451/http://www.census.gov/popclock/world/ch |archive-date=5 September 2015}}

By the seventh census in 2020, the total population had reached to 1,419,933,142, with the mainland having 1,411,778,724, Hong Kong having 7,474,200, and Macau having 683,218. However, this number is disputed by obstetrics researcher Yi Fuxian, who argues that data related to population growth is inflated by local governments to obtain financial subsidies from the central government.{{cite news |last1=Lee |first1=Jane Lanhee |date=3 December 2021 |title=Researcher questions China's population data, says it may be lower |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/china/researcher-questions-chinas-population-data-says-it-may-be-lower-2021-12-03/ |access-date=25 July 2022 |archive-date=13 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220713094103/https://www.reuters.com/world/china/researcher-questions-chinas-population-data-says-it-may-be-lower-2021-12-03/ |url-status=live}}

File:China Population Density, 2000 (6171905307).jpg

File:Topographic map of East Central China.jpg

{{unreferenced section|date=September 2019}}

China is the second most populous country in the world and its national population density (137/km²) is very similar to those of countries like Denmark (excluding Greenland) or the Czech Republic. However, the overall population density of China conceals major regional variations. In 2002, about 94% of the population lived east of the Heihe–Tengchong Line; although this eastern area comprises only 43% of China's total land area, its population density, at roughly 280/km², is comparable to that of Japan.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}

Broadly speaking, the population was concentrated east of the Tibetan Plateau and south of the northern steppe. The most densely populated areas included the Yangtze River Valley (of which the delta region was the most populous), Sichuan Basin, North China Plain, Pearl River Delta, and the industrial area around the city of Shenyang in the northeast.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}

Population is most sparse in the mountainous, desert, and grassland regions of the northwest and southwest. In Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, portions are completely uninhabited, and only a few sections have populations denser than ten people per km². The Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, and Tibet autonomous regions and Qinghai and Gansu comprise 55% of the country's land area but in 1985 contained only 5.7% of its population.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}

{{clear}}

Census population of China by age and sex:

File:China Sex by Age 1953 census.png|China population pyramid as of 1st National Census day on June 30, 1953

File:China Sex By Age 1964 census.png|China population pyramid as of 2nd National Census day on July 1, 1964

File:China Sex By Age 1982 census.png|China population pyramid as of 3rd National Census day on July 1, 1982

File:China Sex By Age 1990 census.png|China population pyramid as of 4th National Census day on July 1, 1990

File:China Sex By Age 2000 census.png|China population pyramid as of 5th National Census day on November 1, 2000

File:China Sex By Age 2010 census.png|China population pyramid as of 6th National Census day on November 1, 2010

File:China_population_sex_by_age_on_Nov,_1st,_2020.png|China population pyramid as of 7th National Census day on November 1, 2020

File:China_population_pyramid_projected_for_2030.png|China population pyramid as projected of 8th National Census day on November 1, 2030, in scenario of constant TFR at 2021 level and continued improvements in mortality

File:China population pyramid from 1950 to 2022.gif

File:China population pyramid from 2023 to 2100.gif for China up to 2100]]

Population by Sex and Age Group (as of November 01, 2010). For statistical purposes, the data for China do not include those for Hong Kong and Macau. Data exclude 2.3 million servicemen, 4.65 million persons with permanent resident status difficult to define, and 0.12 per cent undercount based on the post enumeration survey:{{cite web |url=https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-social/products/dyb/dyb_2019/ |title=UNSD — Demographic and Social Statistics |access-date=26 May 2022 |archive-date=14 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220414025155/https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-social/products/dyb/dyb_2019/ |url-status=live}}

{{GraphChart

| width = 450

| height = 150

| xAxisTitle=year

| yAxisTitle= million

| yAxisMin=

| yGrid= 0,1

| xGrid= 10

| legend=

| type = line

| x = 1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022

| y1= 546.8, 557.5, 568.9, 581.4, 595.3, 608.7, 621.5, 637.4, 653.2, 666, 667.1, 660.3, 665.8, 682.3, 698.4, 715.2, 735.4, 754.5, 774.5, 796, 818.3, 841.1, 862, 881.9, 900.4, 916.4, 930.7, 943.5, 956.2, 969, 981.2, 993.9, 1008.1, 1020.2, 1034.8, 1045.3, 1066.8, 1084, 1101.6, 1118.7, 1135.2, 1150.8, 1165, 1178.4, 1191.8, 1204.9, 1217.5, 1230.1, 1241.9, 1252.7, 1262.6, 1271.8, 1280.4, 1288.4, 1296.1, 1303.7, 1311, 1317.9, 1324.7, 1331.4, 1337.8, 1344.1, 1353.8, 1360.7, 1367.8, 1374.6, 1382.7, 1390.1, 1395.4, 1400, 1411.1, 1412.4, 1411.8

| y1Title= population (million)

}}

{{GraphChart

| width = 450

| height = 150

| xAxisTitle=years

| yAxisTitle= ‰

| yAxisMin=

| yGrid= 0,1

| xGrid= 10

| hAnnotatonsLine=0

| hAnnotatonsLabel=

| legend=

| type = line

| x = 1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022

| y1= 19.0, 20.0, 20.0, 23.0, 24.79, 20.32, 20.50, 23.23, 17.24, 10.19, -4.57, 3.78, 26.99, 33.33, 27.64, 28.38, 26.22, 25.53, 27.38, 26.08, 25.83, 23.33, 22.16, 20.89, 17.48, 15.69, 12.66, 12.06, 12.00, 11.61, 11.87, 14.55, 15.68, 13.29, 13.08, 14.26, 15.57, 16.61, 15.73, 15.04, 14.39, 12.98, 11.60, 11.46, 11.21, 10.55, 10.41, 10.06, 9.14, 8.18, 7.58, 6.95, 6.45, 6.01, 5.87, 5.89, 5.28, 5.17, 5.08, 4.87, 4.79, 6.13, 7.43, 5.90, 6.71, 4.95, 6.53, 5.58, 3.78, 3.32, 1.45, 0.34, -0.60

| y1Title=natural change (per 1000)

}}

File:New Chinese city (11359603824).jpg, 2013]]

{{Main|Urbanization in China}}

Urbanization increased in speed following the initiation of the reform and opening policy. By the end of 2024, 67% of the total population lived in urban areas, a rate that rose from 26% in 1990.{{Cite news |date=17 January 2025 |title=中国人口连续三年下降 去年减少139万人 |trans-title=China's population has declined for three consecutive years, with a decrease of 1.39 million people last year |url=https://www.zaobao.com.sg/realtime/china/story20250117-5747402 |access-date=18 January 2025 |work=Lianhe Zaobao}}

{{Clear}}

{{See also|One-child policy|Two-child policy}}{{More citations needed|section|date=September 2024}}File:Birth rate in China.svg

Initially, China's post-1949 leaders were ideologically disposed to view a large population as an asset. But the liabilities of a large, rapidly growing population soon became apparent. For one year, starting in August 1956, vigorous support was given to the Ministry of Public Health's mass birth control efforts. These efforts, however, had little impact on fertility. After the interval of the Great Leap Forward, Chinese leaders again saw rapid population growth as an obstacle to development, and their interest in birth control revived. In the early 1960s, schemes somewhat more muted than during the first campaign, emphasized the virtues of late marriage. Birth control offices were set up in the central government and some provincial-level governments in 1964. The second campaign was particularly successful in the cities, where the birth rate was cut in half during the 1963–66 period. The upheaval of the Cultural Revolution brought the program to a halt, however.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}

In 1972 and 1973 the party mobilized its resources for a nationwide birth control campaign administered by a group in the State Council. Committees to oversee birth control activities were established at all administrative levels and in various collective enterprises. This extensive and seemingly effective network covered both the rural and the urban population. In urban areas public security headquarters included population control sections. In rural areas the country's "barefoot doctors" distributed information and contraceptives to people's commune members. By 1973 Mao Zedong was personally identified with the family planning movement, signifying a greater leadership commitment to controlled population growth than ever before. Yet until several years after Mao's death in 1976, the leadership was reluctant to put forth directly the rationale that population control was necessary for economic growth and improved living standards.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}

Population growth targets were set for both administrative units and individual families. In the mid-1970s the maximum recommended family size was two children in cities and three or four in the country. In 1979 the government began advocating a one-child limit for both rural and urban areas and has generally set a maximum of two children in special circumstances. As of 1986 the policy for minority nationalities was two children per couple, three in special circumstances, and no limit for ethnic groups with very small populations. The overall goal of the one-child policy was to keep the total population within 1.2 billion through the year 2000, on the premise that the Four Modernizations program would be of little value if population growth was not brought under control.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}

Under the one-child program, a sophisticated system rewarded those who observed the policy and penalized those who did not. Through this policy, the rate of increasing population was tempered after the penalties were made. Couples with only one child were given a "one-child certificate" entitling them to such benefits as cash bonuses, longer maternity leave, better child care, and preferential housing assignments. In return, they were required to pledge that they would not have more children. In the countryside, there was great pressure to adhere to the one-child limit. Because the rural population accounted for approximately 60% of the total, the effectiveness of the one-child policy in rural areas was considered the key to the success or failure of the program as a whole.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}

In rural areas the day-to-day work of family planning was done by cadres at the team and brigade levels who were responsible for women's affairs and by health workers. The women's team leader made regular household visits to keep track of the status of each family under her jurisdiction and collected information on which women were using contraceptives, the methods used, and which had become pregnant. She then reported to the brigade women's leader, who documented the information and took it to a monthly meeting of the commune birth-planning committee. According to reports, ceilings or quotas had to be adhered to; to satisfy these cutoffs, unmarried young people were persuaded to postpone marriage, couples without children were advised to "wait their turn," women with unauthorized pregnancies were pressured to have abortions, and those who already had children were urged to use contraception or undergo sterilization. Couples with more than one child were exhorted to be sterilized.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}

The one-child policy enjoyed much greater success in urban than in rural areas. Even without state intervention, there were compelling reasons for urban couples to limit the family to a single child. Raising a child required a significant portion of family income, and in the cities a child did not become an economic asset until he or she entered the work force at age sixteen. Couples with only one child were given preferential treatment in housing allocation. In addition, because city dwellers who were employed in state enterprises received pensions after retirement, the sex of their first child was less important to them than it was to those in rural areas.{{Cite web |date=2024-01-03 |title=One-child policy {{!}} Definition, Start Date, Effects, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/one-child-policy |access-date=2024-01-22 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en |archive-date=30 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530075949/https://www.britannica.com/topic/one-child-policy |url-status=live}}

Numerous reports surfaced of coercive measures used to achieve the desired results of the one-child policy. The alleged methods ranged from intense psychological pressure to the use of physical force, including some grisly accounts of forced abortions and infanticide. Chinese officials admitted that isolated, uncondoned abuses of the program occurred and that they condemned such acts, but they insisted that the family planning program was administered on a voluntary basis using persuasion and economic measures only. International reaction to the allegations were mixed. The UN Fund for Population Activities and the International Planned Parenthood Federation were generally supportive of China's family planning program. The United States Agency for International Development, however, withdrew US$10 million from the Fund in March 1985 based on allegations that coercion had been used.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}

Observers suggested that an accurate assessment of the one-child program would not be possible until all women who came of childbearing age in the early 1980s passed their fertile years. As of 1987 the one-child program had achieved mixed results. In general, it was very successful in almost all urban areas but less successful in rural areas.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}

Rapid fertility reduction associated with the one-child policy has potentially negative results. For instance, in the future the elderly might not be able to rely on their children to care for them as they have in the past, leaving the state to assume the expense, which could be considerable. Based on United Nations and Chinese government statistics, it was estimated in 1987 that by 2000 the population 60 years and older (the retirement age is 60 in urban areas) would number 127 million, or 10.1% of the total population; the projection for 2025 was 234 million elderly, or 16.4%. According to projections based on the 1982 census, if the one-child policy were maintained to the year 2000, 25% of China's population would be age 65 or older by 2040. In 2050, the number of people over 60 is expected to increase to 430 million.{{Cite journal |last1=Du |first1=Peng |last2=Yang |first2=Hui |date=2010 |title=China's population ageing and active ageing |journal=China Journal of Social Work |volume=3 |issue=2–3 |pages=139–152 |doi=10.1080/17525098.2010.492636 |s2cid=153569892}} Even though China has already opened two-child policy since 2016, data shows that the second-child policy cannot stop the problem of an aging population. China needs to find an appropriate birth policy to optimize the demographic dividend, which refers to the proportion of labor-age population.{{Cite journal |last1=Wu |first1=Pengkun |last2=Wu |first2=Chong |last3=Wu |first3=Yuanyuan |date=June 2018 |title=Reforming Path of China's Fertility Policy in Stabilizing Demographic Dividends Perspective |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11205-017-1642-0 |journal=Social Indicators Research |language=en |volume=137 |issue=3 |pages=1225–1243 |doi=10.1007/s11205-017-1642-0 |s2cid=157651164 |issn=0303-8300 |access-date=6 November 2020 |archive-date=3 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240603023126/https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11205-017-1642-0 |url-status=live}} On the other hand, the higher house prices squeeze the marriage in China. The house price plays an important role on the influence of marriage and fertility. The increasing house price leads to the lower marriage rate and cause the other serious social problems in China.{{Cite journal |last1=Su |first1=Chi-Wei |last2=Khan |first2=Khalid |last3=Hao |first3=Lin-Na |last4=Tao |first4=Ran |last5=Peculea |first5=Adelina Dumitrescu |date=2020-01-01 |title=Do house prices squeeze marriages in China? |journal=Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja |language=en |volume=33 |issue=1 |pages=1419–1440 |doi=10.1080/1331677X.2020.1746190 |s2cid=219065105 |issn=1331-677X |doi-access=free}}

In 2024, United Nations researchers forecast China's population to fall to 639 million by 2100.{{Cite news |last1=Qi |first1=Liyan |last2=Li |first2=Ming |date=July 11, 2024 |title=The One-Child Policy Supercharged China's Economic Miracle. Now It's Paying the Price. |url=https://www.wsj.com/world/china/china-population-slowing-economy-7ff938e5 |url-access=subscription |access-date=July 12, 2024 |work=The Wall Street Journal |quote=...the U.N. expects China’s population to drop from 1.4 billion today to 639 million by 2100, a much steeper drop than the 766.7 million it predicted just two years ago. |archive-date=12 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240712155824/https://www.wsj.com/world/china/china-population-slowing-economy-7ff938e5 |url-status=live}} The same year, researchers from Victoria University and the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences forecast that China's population will fall to approximately 525 million by 2100 at current rates.{{Cite news |last=Qi |first=Liyan |date=February 12, 2024 |title=How China Miscalculated Its Way to a Baby Bust |url=https://www.wsj.com/world/china/china-population-births-economy-one-child-c5b95901 |url-access=subscription |access-date=2024-02-13 |work=The Wall Street Journal |language=en-US |archive-date=13 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240213172910/https://www.wsj.com/world/china/china-population-births-economy-one-child-c5b95901 |url-status=live}} This revision, reducing the population estimate to 525 million from a previous forecast of 597 million by 2100, indicates a sharper decline than previously anticipated.

File:China population changes.webp

These are estimates as there are no registry data for that period. Sources: Our World In Data and Gapminder Foundation.{{citation |url=https://ourworldindata.org/fertility-rate |title=Fertility Rate |author=Max Roser |date=2014 |work=Our World In Data, Gapminder Foundation |access-date=20 July 2018 |archive-date=21 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201121073056/https://ourworldindata.org/fertility-rate |url-status=live}}

Notable events in demography of China:

• 1958–1962 Great Leap Forward

{{GraphChart

| width = 450

| height = 150

| xAxisTitle=years

| yAxisTitle= TFR

| yAxisMin=

| yGrid= 0,1

| xGrid= 10

| hAnnotatonsLine=2.1

| hAnnotatonsLabel=

| legend=

| type = line

| x = 1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022

| y1= 5.29,,,,,5.98,,,,,3.99,,,,,6.02,,,,,5.75,,,,,3.58,,,,,2.32,,,,,2.65,,,,,2.43,,,,,1.68,,,,,1.45,,,,,1.51,,1.53, 1.55, 1.54,1.54,,,,,1.57, 1.70, 1.67, 1.55, 1.50, 1.30, 1.16, 1.08

| y1Title=total fertility rate

}}

According to the 2000 census, the TFR was 1.22 (0.86 for cities, 1.08 for towns and 1.43 for villages/outposts). Beijing had the lowest TFR at 0.67, while Guizhou had the highest at 2.19. The Xiangyang district of Jiamusi city (Heilongjiang) has a TFR of 0.41, which is the lowest TFR recorded anywhere in the world in recorded history. Other extremely low TFR counties are: 0.43 in the Heping district of Tianjin city (Tianjin), and 0.46 in the Mawei district of Fuzhou city (Fujian). At the other end TFR was 3.96 in Geji County (Tibet), 4.07 in Jiali County (Tibet), and 5.47 in Baqing County (Tibet).{{cite thesis |last=Terrell |first=Heather |title=Fertility in China in 2000: A County Level Analysis |date=2005 |access-date=14 December 2022 |type=MS thesis |publisher=Texas A&M University |url=https://oaktrust.library.tamu.edu/handle/1969.1/3892 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221214155317/https://oaktrust.library.tamu.edu/handle/1969.1/3892 |archive-date=14 December 2022 |hdl=1969.1/3892 |df=dmy-all |url-status=live}}

The 2010 census reported a TFR of 1.18 (0.88 in cities, 1.15 in townships, and

1.44 in rural areas).{{cite web |author1=Wang Guang-zhou |author2=Fu Chong-hui |title=New fertility changes and characteristics from the sixth population census in China |url=http://www.iussp.org/sites/default/files/event_call_for_papers/New%20fertility%20changes%20and%20characteristics%20from%20the%20sixth%20population%20census%20in%20China-isupp-11.21_0.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160403072026/http://iussp.org/sites/default/files/event_call_for_papers/New%20fertility%20changes%20and%20characteristics%20from%20the%20sixth%20population%20census%20in%20China-isupp-11.21_0.pdf |archive-date=3 April 2016 |access-date=31 August 2017 |website=Iussp.org}}

The five regions with the lowest fertility rates were Beijing (0.71), Shanghai

(0.74), Liaoning (0.74), Heilongjiang (0.75), and Jilin (0.76). The five regions with the highest

fertility rates were Guangxi (1.79), Guizhou (1.75), Xinjiang (1.53), Hainan (1.51), and Anhui

(1.48).

The 2020 census reported a TFR of 1.301, with 1.118 in cities, 1.395 in townships, and 1.543 in rural areas.{{cite web |title=China Population Census Yearbook 2020, 6-4 |url=https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/pcsj/rkpc/7rp/zk/indexch.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240219081310/https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/pcsj/rkpc/7rp/zk/indexch.htm |archive-date=19 February 2024 |access-date=3 April 2024 |website=国家统计局-第七次人口普查数据}}

The shift of fertility rate recorded in 2020 census compared to that in the previous 2 censuses may not be an actual recovery, but rather due to the low quality and massive underreporting of lower-age groups in the 2000 and 2010 censuses, while the population control policy in China back then may also give families an incentive to hide their children, which is largely relieved as the policy changed in 2010s. This can be demonstrated by the much lower number of population aged 0~4 and 5~9 in the 2000 and 2010 censuses {{cite web |title=中国2000年人口普查资料，3-1 |url=https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/pcsj/rkpc/5rp/index.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240411163117/https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/pcsj/rkpc/5rp/index.htm |archive-date=11 April 2024 |access-date=3 April 2024 |website=国家统计局-第五次人口普查数据}}{{cite web |title=中国2010年人口普查资料，3-1 |url=https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/pcsj/rkpc/6rp/indexch.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240403024816/https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/pcsj/rkpc/6rp/indexch.htm |archive-date=3 April 2024 |access-date=3 April 2024 |website=国家统计局-第六次人口普查数据}} when compared to the corresponding age groups in 2020.{{cite web |title=China Population Census Yearbook 2020，3-1 |url=https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/pcsj/rkpc/7rp/zk/indexch.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240219081310/https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/pcsj/rkpc/7rp/zk/indexch.htm |archive-date=19 February 2024 |access-date=3 April 2024 |website=国家统计局-第七次人口普查数据}}

Total fertility rate by ethnic group (2010 census): Han (1.14), Zhuang (1.59), Hui (1.48), Manchu (1.18), Uyghur (2.04), Miao (1.82), Yi (1.82), Tujia (1.74), Tibetan (1.60), Mongols (1.26).{{cite web |last=Team |first=Discuz! Team and Comsenz UI |title=科学网—2010年人口普查各民族人口数据 - 易富贤的博文 |url=http://blog.sciencenet.cn/blog-385383-765643.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170831225100/http://blog.sciencenet.cn/blog-385383-765643.html |archive-date=31 August 2017 |access-date=31 August 2017 |website=blog.sciencenet.cn}}

{{See also|List of Chinese administrative divisions by life expectancy}}

File:Life expectancy map of China 2019 with names.png |language=en |date=13 January 2023 |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=40–44 |doi=10.46234/ccdcw2023.008 |pmid=36776687 |pmc=9902745}} — table 1, page 42]]

File:Life expectancy by WBG -China -diff.png

Source: UN World Population Prospects{{cite web |title=World Population Prospects – Population Division – United Nations |url=https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/DataQuery/ |access-date=2017-07-15 |archive-date=19 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919061238/https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/DataQuery/ |url-status=live}}

File:Chang%27an_avenue_in_Beijing.jpg

{{See also|Aging of China}}{{More citations needed|section|date=September 2024}}

In 1949 crude death rates were probably higher than 30 per 1,000, and the average life expectancy was only 35 years. Beginning in the early 1950s, mortality steadily declined; it continued to decline through 1978 and remained relatively constant through 1987. One major fluctuation was reported in a computer reconstruction of China's population trends from 1953 to 1987 produced by the United States Bureau of the Census. The computer model showed that the crude death rate increased dramatically during the famine years associated with the Great Leap Forward (1958–60).{{citation needed|date=October 2023}}

According to Chinese government statistics, the crude birth rate followed five distinct patterns from 1949 to 1982. It remained stable from 1949 to 1954, varied widely from 1955 to 1965, experienced fluctuations between 1966 and 1969, dropped sharply in the late 1970s, and increased from 1980 to 1981. Between 1970 and 1980, the crude birth rate dropped from 33.4 per 1,000 to 18.2 per 1,000. The government attributed this dramatic decline in fertility to the wǎn xī shǎo ("晚、稀、少", or "late, long, few": later marriages, longer intervals between births, and fewer children) birth control campaign. However, elements of socioeconomic change, such as increased employment of women in both urban and rural areas and reduced infant mortality (a greater percentage of surviving children would tend to reduce demand for additional children), may have played some role. The birth rate increased in the 1980s to a level over 20 per 1,000, primarily as a result of a marked rise in marriages and first births. The rise was an indication of problems with the one-child policy of 1979. Chinese sources, however, indicate that the birth rate started to decrease again in the 1990s and reached a level of around 12 per 1,000 in recent years.{{citation needed|date=October 2023}}

In urban areas, the housing shortage may have been at least partly responsible for the decreased birth rate. Also, the policy in force during most of the 1960s and the early 1970s of sending large numbers of high school graduates to the countryside deprived cities of a significant proportion of persons of childbearing age and undoubtedly had some effect on birth rates (see Cultural Revolution (1966–76)). Primarily for economic reasons, rural birth rates tended to decline less than urban rates. The right to grow and sell agricultural products for personal profit and the lack of an old-age welfare system were incentives for rural people to produce many children, especially sons, for help in the fields and for support in old age. Because of these conditions, it is unclear to what degree education has been able to erode traditional values favoring large families.{{citation needed|date=October 2023}}

China exhibits a serious gender imbalance. Census data obtained in 2000 revealed that 119 boys were born for every 100 girls, and among China's "floating population" the ratio was as high as 128:100. These situations led the government in July 2004 to ban selective abortions of female fetuses. It is estimated{{By whom|date=December 2024}} that this imbalance will rise until 2025–2030 to reach 20% then slowly decrease.{{cite web |url=http://www.sinoptic.ch/textes/articles/2007/2007_Projection.population.Chine.pdf |title=Pascal Rocha da Silva, Projection de la population chinoise 2000–2050, p. 9, cf. |access-date=14 October 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130811020453/http://www.sinoptic.ch/textes/articles/2007/2007_Projection.population.Chine.pdf |archive-date=11 August 2013 |df=dmy}}

In the 2020s, cash incentives have been offered to increase birth rates.{{Cite news |last=Lang |first=Qian |date=November 20, 2024 |title=Remote Chinese county offers cash for babies to boost population |url=https://www.rfa.org/english/china/2024/11/20/china-births-gansu-cash-babies/ |access-date=November 21, 2024 |work=Radio Free Asia}}{{Cite news |last1=Olcott |first1=Eleanor |last2=Xueqiao |first2=Wang |last3=Liu |first3=Nian |date=2024-12-25 |title=China steps up campaign for single people to date, marry and give birth |url=https://www.ft.com/content/5fdf42e1-2975-4c99-9031-a9f73c2251be |url-access=subscription |access-date=2024-12-25 |work=Financial Times}} Local government family-planning committees, previously used to enforce the one-child policy, are deployed for pro-natalist policies such as calling women to check on their menstrual cycle.{{Cite news |date=November 28, 2024 |title=China's government is badgering women to have babies |url=https://www.economist.com/china/2024/11/28/chinas-government-is-badgering-women-to-have-babies |url-access=subscription |access-date=2024-11-28 |newspaper=The Economist |issn=0013-0613}}{{Cite web |last=Kaufman |first=Arthur |date=2025-05-01 |title=As Marriage Registrations Drop, Local Officials Text Women: “How Has Your Period Been Recently?” |url=https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2025/04/as-marriage-registrations-drop-local-officials-text-women-how-has-your-period-been-recently/ |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=China Digital Times |language=en-US}}

Although the National Bureau of Statistics of China reported 9.02 million births in 2023, the state-owned Mother and Infant Daily newspaper reported there were 7.88 million births for the same year.{{Cite web |date=December 27, 2023 |title=China deletes leaked stats showing plunging birth rate for 2023 |url=https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/china-birth-rates-plunge-12272023160425.html |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=Radio Free Asia |language=en |archive-date=2 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102191523/https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/china-birth-rates-plunge-12272023160425.html |url-status=live}} The report was promptly censored following publication.

In 2012, for the first time, according to the National Bureau of Statistics in January 2013, the number of people theoretically able to enter the Chinese labor force (individuals aged 15 to 59), shrank slightly to 937.27 million, a decrease of 3.45 million from 2011. This trend, resulting from a demographic transition, is anticipated to continue until at least 2030.{{cite news |title=Chinese Labor Pool Begins to Drain |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2013/01/19/chinese-labor-pool-begins-to-drain.html |access-date=8 February 2013 |newspaper=CNBC |date=19 January 2013 |author=Jamil Anderliniin |author2=Ed Crooks |agency=Financial Times |archive-date=28 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130328064737/http://www.cnbc.com/id/100392731 |url-status=live}}

The World Factbook estimated the 2019 active labor force was 774.71 million.{{cite web |title=CIA World Fact Book |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/china/ |website=Cia.gov |access-date=19 December 2022 |archive-date=13 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210213122152/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/china/ |url-status=live}}

As of 2020, the average Chinese man was {{convert|169.7|cm|ftin|abbr=off|sp=us}} tall in 2019, the figures showed, and women's average height was {{convert|158|cm|ftin|sp=us}}. The same study showed an average Chinese man weighed {{convert|69.6|kg|lb stlb}}, up {{convert|3.4|kg|lb}} over 10 years, while women were {{convert|1.7|kg|lb}} heavier on average at {{convert|59|kg|lb stlb}}. They were up {{convert|1.2|and|0.8|cm|in|sp=us}} respectively from 5 years earlier.{{Cite web |title=中国男性和女性平均身高分别为169.7厘米和158厘米-中新网 |url=https://www.chinanews.com.cn/gn/2020/12-23/9369166.shtml |access-date=2022-07-28 |website=www.chinanews.com.cn |archive-date=9 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609115801/https://www.chinanews.com.cn/gn/2020/12-23/9369166.shtml |url-status=live}}

Future challenges for China will be the gender disparity. According to the 2020 census, males account for 51.24% of China's 1.41 billion people, while females made up 48.76% of the total. The sex ratio (the number of males for each female in a population) at birth was 118.06 boys to every 100 girls (54.14%) in 2010, higher than the 116.86 (53.89%) of 2000, but 0.53 points lower than the ratio of 118.59 (54.25%) in 2005.{{cite web |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-04/28/c_13850191.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110911115321/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-04/28/c_13850191.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 September 2011 |title=Chinese mainland gender ratios most balanced since 1950s: census data |website=News.xinhuanet.com |date=28 April 2011 |access-date=14 October 2013}}

{{Main list|List of ethnic groups in China}}

The People's Republic of China (PRC) officially recognizes 56 distinct ethnic groups, the largest of which are Han, who constitute 91.51% of the total population in 2010. Ethnic minorities constitute 8.49% or 113.8 million of China's population in 2010. During the past decades ethnic minorities have experienced higher growth rates than the majority Han population, because they are not under the one-child policy. Their proportion of the population in China has grown from 6.1% in 1953, to 8.04% in 1990, 8.41% in 2000, and 8.49% in 2010. Large ethnic minorities (data according to the 2000 census) include the Zhuang (16 million, 1.28%), Manchu (10 million, 0.84%), Uyghur (9 million, 0.78%), Hui (9 million, 0.71%), Miao (8 million, 0.71%), Yi (7 million, 0.61%), Tujia (5.75 million, 0.63%), Mongols (5 million, 0.46%), Tibetan (5 million, 0.43%), Buyei (3 million, 0.23%), and Korean (2 million, 0.15%). Over 126,000 Westerners from Canada, the US and Europe are living in mainland China.{{Cite web |url=http://www.beijingrelocation.com/blog/expats-in-china-nationalities-and-in-which-cities-they-settle/ |title=Expats in China: Nationalities and in which cities they settle |access-date=9 February 2020 |archive-date=5 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220505091557/http://www.beijingrelocation.com/blog/expats-in-china-nationalities-and-in-which-cities-they-settle/ |url-status=live}} Almost 1% of people living in Hong Kong are Westerners.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}

Neither Hong Kong nor Macau recognizes the official ethnic classifications maintained by the central government. In Macau, the largest substantial ethnic groups of non-Chinese descent are the Macanese, of mixed Chinese and Portuguese descent (Eurasians), as well as migrants from the Philippines and Thailand. Overseas Filipinos (overwhelmingly female) working as domestic workers comprise the largest non-Han Chinese ethnic group in Hong Kong.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}

The 2020 Census counted 371,380 residents from Hong Kong, 55,732 residents from Macau, 157,886 residents from Taiwan, and 845,697 residents from other locations, totaling 1,430,695 residents.{{cite web |url=http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/newsandcomingevents/t20110429_402722638.htm |title=Major Figures on Residents from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan and Foreigners Covered by 2010 Population Census |website=Stats.gov.cn |access-date=14 October 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514214156/http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/newsandcomingevents/t20110429_402722638.htm |archive-date=14 May 2011 |df=dmy}}{{Cite web |title=在国内的外国人中，哪个国家的人最多？_越南_缅甸_日本 |url=https://www.sohu.com/a/www.sohu.com/a/590188122_120884220 |access-date=2023-05-08 |website=www.sohu.com}}{{Dead link|date=May 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

{{Main|Religion in China}}

{{Further|Religion in Hong Kong|Religion in Macau}}

{{multiple image

|perrow=2

|total_width=650

|header = Mapping of religions in China and Taiwan

|image1 = Chinese ancestor-gods belief by province of China (Chinese Spiritual Life Survey 2010).png

|caption1 = Chinese ancestorism{{NoteTag|Chinese ancestral or lineage religion is the worship of kin's ancestor-gods in the system of lineage churches and ancestral shrines. It is worthwhile to note that this does not include other forms of Chinese religion, such as the worship of national ancestral gods or the gods of nature (which in northern China is more common than ancestor worship), and Taoism and Confucianism.}}

|image2 = Folk religious sects' influence by province of China (alternate).png

|caption2 = Chinese salvationist religions, Confucian churches and jiaohua movements{{NoteTag|The map represents the geographic diffusion of the tradition of folk religious movements of salvation, Confucian churches and jiaohua ("transformative teachings") movements, based on historical data and contemporary fieldwork. Due to incomplete data and ambiguous identity of many of these traditions the map may not be completely accurate. Sources include a [https://worldmap.harvard.edu/data/geonode:wrd_province_religion_qg0 World Religion Map] from Harvard University, based on data from the World Religion Database, showing highly unprecise ranges of Chinese folk (salvationist) religions' membership by province. Another source, the studies of China's Regional Religious System, find "very high activity of popular religion and secret societies and low Buddhist presence in northern regions, while very high Buddhist presence in the southeast".{{cite news |last1=Wu |first1=Jiang |last2=Tong |first2=Daoqin |title=Spatial Analysis and GIS Modeling of Regional Religious Systems in China |publisher=University of Arizona |url=http://chinadatacenter.org/Files/201203201336113771.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170427135907/http://chinadatacenter.org/Files/201203201336113771.pdf |archive-date=27 April 2017}}

{{NoteTag|Historical record and contemporary scholarly fieldwork testify certain central and northern provinces of China as hotbeds of folk religious sects and Confucian religious groups. }}

• Hebei: Fieldwork by Thomas David Dubois{{sfnb|Dubois|2005}} testifies the dominance of folk religious movements, specifically the Church of the Heaven and the Earth and the Church of the Highest Supreme, since their "energetic revival since the 1970s" (p. 13), in the religious life of the counties of Hebei. Religious life in rural Hebei is also characterised by a type of organisation called the benevolent churches and the salvationist movement known as Zailiism has returned active since the 1990s.
• Henan: According to Heberer and Jakobi (2000){{cite news |last1=Heberer |first1=Thomas |last2=Jakobi |first2=Sabine |title=Henan - The Model: From Hegemonism to Fragmentism. Portrait of the Political Culture of China's Most Populated Province |series=Duisburg Working Papers on East Asian Studies |number=32 |year=2000 |url=https://www.uni-due.de/oapol/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/Heberer-Jakobi_Henan-The-Model1.pdf |access-date=13 June 2018 |archive-date=19 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119201349/https://www.uni-due.de/oapol/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/Heberer-Jakobi_Henan-The-Model1.pdf |url-status=live}} Henan has been for centuries a hub of folk religious sects (p. 7) that constitute significant focuses of the religious life of the province. Sects present in the region include the Baguadao or Tianli ("Order of Heaven") sect, the Dadaohui, the Tianxianmiaodao, the Yiguandao, and many others. Henan also has a strong popular Confucian orientation (p. 5).
• Northeast China: According to official records by the then-government, the Universal Church of the Way and its Virtue or Morality Society had 8 million members in Manchuria, or northeast China in the 1930s, making up about 25% of the total population of the area (note that the state of Manchuria also included the eastern end of modern-day Inner Mongolia).{{sfnb|Ownby|2008}} Folk religious movements of a Confucian nature, or Confucian churches, were in fact very successful in the northeast.
• Shandong: The province is traditionally a stronghold of Confucianism and is the area of origin of many folk religious sects and Confucian churches of the modern period, including the Universal Church of the Way and its Virtue, the Way of the Return to the One (皈依道 Guīyīdào), the Way of Unity (一貫道 Yīguàndào), and others. Alex Payette (2016) testifies the rapid growth of Confucian groups in the province in the 2010s.{{sfnb|Payette|2016}}

According to the Chinese General Social Survey of 2012,{{cite journal |last=Lu 卢 |first=Yunfeng 云峰 |title=卢云峰：当代中国宗教状况报告——基于CFPS（2012）调查数据 |trans-title=Report on Religions in Contemporary China – Based on CFPS (2012) Survey Data |journal=World Religious Cultures |year=2014 |number=1 |url=http://iwr.cass.cn/zjwh/201403/W020140303370398758556.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140809051625/http://iwr.cass.cn/zjwh/201403/W020140303370398758556.pdf |archive-date=9 August 2014 |page=13 |access-date=13 June 2018 |url-status=dead}} The report compares the data of the China Family Panel Studies 2012 with those of the Renmin University's Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) of the years 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2011. about 2.2% of the total population of China (around 30 million people) claims membership in the folk religious sects, which have likely maintained their historical dominance in central-northern and northeastern China.}}

|image3=Taoist Church influence in China (alternate).png

|caption3=Taoism{{cite map |map=Taoism in China |map-url=http://previews.figshare.com/1117823/preview_1117823.jpg |title=Taoism's incidence by province of China |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170427135809/http://previews.figshare.com/1117823/preview_1117823.jpg |archive-date=27 April 2017}} The map illustrates local religion led by Taoist specialists, forms and institutions.

|image4=Buddhism in China (China Family Panel Studies 2012).png|caption4=Buddhism

|image5=Christianity in China (China Family Panel Studies 2012).png|caption5=Christianity

|image6 = Islam in China, with 0.2 (Yang Zongde 2010).png|caption6=Islam

}}

{{Religion in China surveys}}

{{Main|Migration in China|Chinese emigration}}

Internal migration in the People's Republic of China is one of the most extensive in the world according to the International Labour Organization.{{Cite web |title=Labour migration |work=International Labour Organization |access-date=2013-10-20 |url=http://www.ilo.org/beijing/areas-of-work/labour-migration/lang--en/index.htm |archive-date=14 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514041951/http://www.ilo.org/beijing/areas-of-work/labour-migration/lang--en/index.htm |url-status=live}} In fact, research done by Kam Wing Chan of the University of Washington suggests that "In the 30 years since 1979, China's urban population has grown by about 440 million to 622 million in 2009. Of the 440 million increase, about 340 million was attributable to net migration and urban reclassification. Even if only half of that increase was migration, the volume of rural-urban migration in such a short period is likely the largest in human history."{{Cite book |publisher=Blackwell Publishing |pages=1–46 |editor=Immanuel Ness |last=Chan |first=Kam Wing |author2=Peter Bellwood |title=The Encyclopedia of Global Migration |chapter=China, Internal Migration |access-date=2013-10-20 |year=2011 |chapter-url=http://faculty.washington.edu/kwchan/Chan-migration.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304083422/http://faculty.washington.edu/kwchan/Chan-migration.pdf |url-status=dead}} Migrants in China are commonly members of a floating population, which refers primarily to migrants in China without local household registration status through the Chinese Hukou system.{{Cite journal |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=467–488 |last=Liang |first=Zai |author2=Zhongdong Ma |title=China's floating population: new evidence from the 2000 census |journal=Population and Development Review |year=2004 |doi=10.1111/j.1728-4457.2004.00024.x}} In general, rural-urban migrant workers are most excluded from local educational resources, citywide social welfare programs and many jobs because of their lack of hukou status.{{cite journal |last=Chan |first=Kam Wing |author2=Li Zhang |s2cid=38684915 |title=The Hukou System and Rural-Urban Migration in China: Processes and Changes |journal=The China Quarterly |year=1999 |volume=160 |issue=160 |pages=818–855 |doi=10.1017/s0305741000001351 |pmid=20101805}}

In 2011 a total of 252.78 million migrant workers (an increase of 4.4% compared to 2010) existed in China. Out of these, migrant workers who left their hometown and worked in other provinces accounted for 158.63 million (an increase of 3.4% compared to 2010) and migrant workers who worked within their home provinces reached 94.15 million (an increase of 5.9% compared to 2010).{{cite web |publisher=National Bureau of Statistics of China |date=2012 |title=Statistical Communiqué on the 2011 National Economic and Social Development |url=http://www.stats.gov.cn/was40/gjtjj_en_detail.jsp?searchword=migrants&channelid=9528&record=3 |access-date=6 August 2012 |quotation=beneath figure 3 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021011943/http://www.stats.gov.cn/was40/gjtjj_en_detail.jsp?searchword=migrants&channelid=9528&record=3 |archive-date=21 October 2013 |url-status=dead}} Estimations are that Chinese cities will face an influx of another 243 million migrants by 2025, taking the urban population up to nearly 1 billion people.{{Cite news |issn=0307-1766 |last=Shanghai |first=Geoff Dyer in |title=China braced for wave of urban migrants |work=Financial Times |access-date=2013-11-15 |date=23 March 2008 |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c11a84ca-f902-11dc-bcf3-000077b07658.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c11a84ca-f902-11dc-bcf3-000077b07658.html |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription}} This population of migrants would represent "almost 40 percent of the total urban population," a number which is almost three times the current level.{{Citation |publisher=McKinsey Global Institute |last=Woetzel |first=Jonathan |author2=Lenny Mendonca |author3=Janamitra Devan |author4=Stefano Negri |author5=Yangmei Hu |author6=Luke Jordan |author7=Xiujun Li |author8=Alexander Maasry |author9=Geoff Tsen |author10=Flora Yu |title=Preparing for China's urban billion |date=March 2009 |url=http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/urbanization/preparing_for_urban_billion_in_china |access-date=21 September 2015 |archive-date=5 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151005035039/http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/urbanization/preparing_for_urban_billion_in_china |url-status=dead}} While it is often difficult to collect accurate statistical data on migrant floating populations, the number of migrants is undoubtedly quite large. "In China's largest cities, for instance, it is often quoted that at least one out of every five persons is a migrant."{{Cite journal |volume=89 |issue=2 |pages=276–280 |last=Wang |first=Feng |author2=Xuejin Zuo |title=Inside China's Cities: Institutional Barriers and Opportunities for Urban Migrants |journal=The American Economic Review |date=May 1999 |jstor=117120 |doi=10.1257/aer.89.2.276}} China's government influences the pattern of urbanization through the Hukou permanent residence registration system, land-sale policies, infrastructure investment and the incentives offered to local government officials. The other factors influencing migration of people from rural provincial areas to large cities are employment, education, business opportunities and higher standard of living.Griffiths, Michael. B. (2010) 'Lamb Buddha's Migrant Workers: Self-assertion on China's Urban Fringe'. Journal of Current Chinese Affairs (China Aktuell), 39, 2, 3–37.

The mass emigration known as the Chinese diaspora,{{cite web |last1=Goodkind |first1=Daniel |title=The Chinese Diaspora: Historical Legacies and Contemporary Trends |url=https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/working-papers/2019/demo/Chinese_Diaspora.pdf |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |access-date=31 August 2021 |archive-date=20 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200220152138/https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/working-papers/2019/demo/Chinese_Diaspora.pdf |url-status=live}} which occurred from the 19th century to 1949, was mainly caused by wars and starvation in mainland China, invasion from various foreign countries, as well as the problems resulting from political corruption. Most immigrants were illiterate peasants and manual labourers, called "coolies" by analogy to the same pattern of immigration from India, who emigrated to work in countries such as the Americas, Australia, South Africa and Southeast Asia.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}

{{Portal|China}}

• Megalopolises in China
• Metropolitan cities of China
• Demographics of Central Asia
• Demographics of Beijing
• Population history of China
• Language Atlas of China

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• {{Country study |article = A Country Study: China |url = http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cntoc.html }}
• {{CIA World Factbook}}
• {{cite book |last=Dubois |first=Thomas David |year=2005 |title=The Sacred Village: Social Change and Religious Life in Rural North China |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |url=http://www.bniao.org/Asset/Source/bnBook_ID-1637_No-01.pdf |isbn=0824828372 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160214212228/http://www.bniao.org/Asset/Source/bnBook_ID-1637_No-01.pdf |archive-date=14 February 2016}}
• {{cite journal |last=Ownby |first=David |title=Sect and Secularism in Reading the Modern Chinese Religious Experience |journal=Archives de sciences sociales des religions |volume=144 |date=2008 |doi=10.4000/assr.17633 |doi-access=free }}
• {{cite journal |last=Payette |first=Alex |title=Local Confucian Revival in China: Ritual Teachings, 'Confucian' Learning and Cultural Resistance in Shandong |journal=China Report |volume=52 |issue=1 |pages=1–18 |date=February 2016 |url=http://chr.sagepub.com/content/52/1/1.abstract |doi=10.1177/0009445515613867 |s2cid=147263039}}

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{{Ethnic groups in China}}

{{Health in China}}

{{Asia topic|Demographics of}}

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{{Economy of China}}

{{Family planning policies of China}}

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